America’s Cup 2021: Jimmy Spithill of Luna Rossa reveals the advantage challengers have over Team New Zealand

Luna Rossa helmsman Jimmy Spithill has admitted that there is a gap to bridge between the challenging fleet and Team New Zealand between now and the America’s Cup, but the challengers gain an advantage that Team New Zealand does not have.

Next month, challengers will compete in the Prada Cup Challenger Series, which will determine who from Luna Rossa, American Magic or Ineos Team UK will go on to compete for the Auld Mug.

So while all four teams have two more days of sailing left in the America’s Cup World Series and Christmas Cup, that will be the end of the line for Team New Zealand in terms of competitive preparation for the main event. .

“The important thing is that the Cup will not be played tomorrow,” Spithill said of the current advantages of the New Zealand team.

“As challengers, we have time. What we have is that we can race together collectively, and the defender cannot. What we have already seen or noticed is that at any moment we can line up with another boat, especially compete with another boat, that’s where big profits are made.

“From a technical and design point of view, all teams are going to do their best to be faster, so we have a lot of work to do. Do I think we can close the gap? I do.”

Spithill’s Luna Rossa showed many improvements between day one and two, trading a win and a loss with American Magic in two highly competitive races.

As expected, given that the World Series and Christmas Cup events were the first opportunity for some competitive races, Spithill admitted that while the team wanted to win, the most important part of this week was learning.

He said exchanging results with American Magic, who beat Ineos Team UK and Team New Zealand on day one, showed that the lessons they took from day one and applied were helping their cause.

“I thought the first day we made a lot of mistakes. I mean, my hand is safe on the first day, and I think today was a good rebound,” Spithill said.

“But we have a lot more to go. There is a lot left in the tank, the boat has a lot more speed, we have a lot of modifications planned, so I’m pretty positive and excited to see what can come out of the boat.”

While they had a lot to be positive about after the second day, problems with onboard technology overshadowed good sailing as Luna Rossa was unable to start well, receiving three penalties in two race starts.

Spithill said the problem came from the RMS system, which was displaying incorrect information about where the markers were placed. In a race, they reached the starting box three seconds earlier than they should.

Since AC75s are so reliant on the technological element, particularly navigation systems, given the boat’s aerodynamic needs, sailors keep their heads down, Sptihill said Friday’s races taught Luna Rossa that they needed to form some sort of plans. contingency for when those systems do not work or to confirm what is displayed on the monitors.

“It’s something we’ve definitely been discussing,” Spithill said. “For example, if the RMS system fails like it happened, what do we do? We definitely need to do a better job of making a plan for that, and we will.

“Ships, as they get more and more complex, and more and more sophisticated, you really become dependent on a lot of the information you have and accurate information, so it’s challenging because you get so used to having numbers and coming out of it that sometimes you have to remind yourself that it’s a yacht race and you have to get your head out of the boat and make some decisions as well. “

Enjoy a smooth sailing to the Cup with Auckland Transport

• Avoid traffic congestion and parking problems and download the AT Mobile app to plan your bus, train or ferry trip to race venues before you leave home.

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• For more ways to enjoy race day, visit at.govt.nz/americascup